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Split (2016 American film)
| writer = M. Night Shyamalan | starring = | music = West Dylan Thordson | cinematography = Mike Gioulakis | editing = Luke Ciarrocchi | studio = | distributor = Universal Pictures | released = | runtime = 117 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $9 million | gross = $278.5 million }} Split is a 2016 American psychological horror thriller film and the second installment in the ''Unbreakable'' trilogy written, directed, and produced by M. Night Shyamalan and starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Betty Buckley. The film follows a man with 24 different personalities who kidnaps and imprisons three teenage girls in an isolated underground facility. Principal photography began on November 11, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The film premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2016, and was released in the United States on January 20, 2017, by Universal Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews, with McAvoy's performance earning high praise and some critics labeling it a welcome return to form for Shyamalan, although some criticized the film for its perceived stigmatization of mental illness. The film grossed $278 million worldwide on a budget of $9 million. The film is a standalone sequel to the 2000 film Unbreakable, which was also written, produced, and directed by Shyamalan. The film was not marketed as a sequel, instead saving the revelation for a scene featuring Bruce Willis reprising his Unbreakable role in an uncredited cameo. Split is noted as the first solo supervillain origin movie and Hollywood's first stealth sequel. It is also Shyamalan's first sequel. The final part of the trilogy, titled Glass, was released in January 2019, combining the casts and characters of both previous films. Plot Casey Cooke is a withdrawn teenager, having been molested as a child by her uncle John, her legal guardian since her father died from a heart attack. After a pity invite to a birthday party, she is offered a ride home by her classmate Claire and Claire's father, along with Claire's friend Marcia. As the girls wait for Claire's father in the car, he is knocked unconscious and Casey, Claire, and Marcia, are kidnapped by Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man suffering from dissociative identity disorder (DID). Kevin is in therapy with Dr. Karen Fletcher, who has identified 23 distinct personalities of Kevin. In his mind, these personalities sit in chairs in a room, waiting for "Barry", the dominant personality, to grant them their turn "in the light" (in control). She has also found that Kevin's physiology changes with each personality. Recently, "Barry" has refused to allow "Dennis" or "Patricia" their turns, in part due to Dennis' tendencies towards bothering underage girls and Patricia's undesirable traits, and also because both appear to worship a mysterious entity known as "The Beast" who plans to rid the world of the "impure". Fletcher has found that she can bring back Kevin's own personality by speaking his full name. Kevin, as "Dennis", locks the girls in a cell in his underground quarters. They recognize his DID, and Claire attempts to use this to escape but is caught by "Dennis" and separated from the others. Kevin continues going to work and attending appointments with Fletcher. Fletcher soon recognizes that "Dennis" has displaced "Barry" as the dominant personality. It is revealed that when Kevin was a child, his father left on a train one day and never returned. As he grew up, Kevin was abused and terrorized by his mother, who suffered from obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). He later experienced an awkward incident with two teenage girls where they forced Kevin to touch their breasts, which Fletcher believes triggered "Dennis" to take over. Marcia attempts to escape but is caught by "Patricia" and separated from Casey. Casey befriends "Hedwig", another one of Kevin's personalities that is a 9 year-old boy, who reveals himself as the one to have taken control of "the light" from "Barry". Casey convinces "Hedwig" to let her out of her cell to see his bedroom, believing that there might be a means of escape through the window "Hedwig" has described in that room, but she finds that it is only a drawing of a window. She takes a walkie-talkie from Hedwig and uses it to call for help, but the man at the other end thinks it is a prank. "Patricia" takes over and subdues Casey. Fletcher visits Kevin's home, where he reveals that he has met "The Beast", in actuality a yet-to-manifest 24th personality. Realizing that "Dennis" may have abducted the three missing girls to serve as a sacrifice to "The Beast", Fletcher feigns going to the bathroom, searches the house, and finds Claire. "Dennis" suddenly appears, sedates Fletcher and locks her up as well. "Dennis" goes to a train station, where he boards an empty train car, which allows "The Beast" to finally take over, giving Kevin superhuman abilities. Fletcher writes Kevin's full name on a piece of paper before "The Beast" arrives and kills her. Casey escapes from her cell, only to find that "The Beast" has already devoured Marcia and watches in horror as he devours Claire too. Casey finds Fletcher's body and the piece of paper. "The Beast" approaches her, but she calls out Kevin's full name, bringing Kevin forth. Upon learning of the situation and realizing that he has not been in control for two years, a horrified Kevin begs Casey to kill him with a shotgun he has hidden. This prompts all 24 personalities to fight for control of "the light" and "Hedwig" is the victor. Casey is told that "Kevin" has been made to sleep far away and he will not awaken now even if his name is called. "Hedwig" gives control over to the undesirable personalities — "Dennis" and "Patricia" — so nobody will ever make fun of him again and they once again let "The Beast" take hold. Casey retrieves the gun and ammunition before escaping into an underground tunnel, where she shoots "The Beast" twice to no effect. She locks herself in a caged area whose bars "The Beast" begins to pull apart. He sees faded self-harm scars across her body, considers Casey to be "pure" and more evolved due to her being "broken", and spares her. Casey is rescued and learns that she was being held at the Philadelphia Zoo, where Kevin had been an employee. When Casey is asked if she is ready to return home with her uncle, she hesitates to answer. In another hideout, "Dennis", "Patricia", and "Hedwig" discuss the power of "The Beast" and their plans to change the world. In a diner, several patrons watch as a news correspondent reports that Kevin's numerous personalities have earned him the nickname "The Horde". A waitress notes the similarity to the case of a wheelchair-bound criminal incarcerated 15 years earlier who was also given a nickname. As she tries to remember the nickname, the man sitting next to her, David Dunn, says it was "Mr. Glass". Cast * James McAvoy as Kevin Wendell Crumb / The Horde: a sufferer of dissociative identity disorder (DID), who has 23 prominent personalities, each with something peculiar or dangerous for his captives. Kevin's body chemistry changes with each personality, resulting in his 24th and final personality, "The Beast": a grotesque and cannibalistic sociopath with superhuman capabilities, such as inhuman bodily strength, enhanced speed and agility, along with near-invulnerability and unnatural mobility, to the point of being able to scale walls and ceilings, but resulting in his insatiable hunger for raw human flesh. * Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cooke, a teenage girl with a traumatic past and a history of self-harm, who is kidnapped by "Dennis", one of Kevin's personalities, to be sacrificed to the Beast. ** Izzie Coffey as 5 year-old Casey * Betty Buckley as Karen Fletcher, a psychologist who attempts to help Kevin with his DID, and believes that DID can, in extreme cases, cause physiological changes. * Haley Lu Richardson as Claire Benoit, Mr. Benoit's daughter, a classmate of Casey and a friend of Marcia, who is also kidnapped by "Dennis" to be sacrificed to the Beast. * Jessica Sula as Marcia, a classmate of Casey and a friend of Claire, who is also kidnapped by "Dennis" to be sacrificed to the Beast. * Brad William Henke as John, Casey's paternal uncle. * Sebastian Arcelus as Casey's father. * Neal Huff as Mr. Benoit, Claire's father. * Kim Director as Hannah. * Lyne Renée as academic moderator. * M. Night Shyamalan as Jai, a security guard in Dr. Fletcher's apartment building. * Rosemary Howard as Penelope Crumb, Kevin's mother. * Bruce Willis as David Dunn (uncredited cameo) Production Shyamalan conceived the idea for Split years before he wrote the screenplay. He explained, "In this case I had written the character a while ago, and I had written out a few scenes of it, so I even had dialogue written out, which is really unusual for me. It sat there for a long time, and I really don't have a clear reason why I didn't pull the trigger earlier. But this felt like the perfect time to do it, with the type of movies I'm doing now, and the type of tones I am interested in – humor and suspense." On October 2, 2015, James McAvoy was cast in the film to play the lead, replacing Joaquin Phoenix. On October 12, 2015, Anya Taylor-Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula, and Haley Lu Richardson were added to the cast. On October 27, 2015, Universal Pictures came on board to release the film and titled it as Split. The character of Kevin had been in one of the early drafts of Shyamalan's Unbreakable, but he had pulled the character out, stating there were balancing issues at that time. With Split, he brought in some of the scenes he had written for Unbreakable around Kevin. The film ends with the appearance of Bruce Willis's character, David Dunn, from Unbreakable, who makes a comment in reference to the previous film, placing Unbreakable and Split within the same narrative universe. Shyamalan requested permission to incorporate the character from Walt Disney Studios, which had produced Unbreakable. Shyamalan met with Sean Bailey about the use of the character; they came to a gentlemen's agreement where Bailey agreed to allow the use of the character in the film without a fee and Shyamalan promised that Disney would be involved in a sequel, if developed. Shyamalan was very secretive of Willis' involvement in Split, removing the final scene from the film for test audiences. Principal photography on the film began on November 11, 2015, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reshoots occurred in June 2016. During post-production, Sterling K. Brown's role as Shaw, Dr. Fletcher's neighbor, was cut from the film, as Shyamalan felt that his scenes were ultimately unnecessary. McAvoy broke his hand in a scene where he was supposed to punch a metal door, but missed the soft section of the door he intended to hit. Release Split had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2016. It also screened at the AFI Fest on November 15, 2016. The film was theatrically released on January 20, 2017, in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Split was released on digital HD on April 4, 2017, and blu-ray, DVD, and On-Demand on April 18, 2017, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Reception Box office Split grossed $138.3 million in the United States and Canada and $140.2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $278.5 million, against a production budget of $9 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film made a net profit of $68.2 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues. It had a gross profit of , with over 2,000% return on investment (ROI), making it the most profitable film of 2017. In North America, the film was released alongside the openings of xXx: Return of Xander Cage, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone and The Founder, as well as the wide expansions of 20th Century Women, and was initially expected to gross $20–25 million from 3,038 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2 million from its Thursday night previews at 2,295 theaters, doubling the $1 million made by Shyamalan's ''The Visit'' in 2015, and $14.6 million on its first day, increasing weekend estimates to $30–37 million. It ended up opening to $40.2 million, finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend the film made $26.3 million, again topping the box office. In its third week the film again topped the box office with $14.6 million, becoming the first Shyamalan film to finish at number one for three straight weeks since The Sixth Sense in 1999. Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 77% based on 283 reviews, with an average rating of 6.49/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Split serves as a dramatic tour de force for James McAvoy in multiple roles – and finds writer-director M. Night Shyamalan returning resoundingly to thrilling form." Metacritic reports a weighted average score 62 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while comScore reported filmgoers gave it a 78% overall positive score and a 54% "definite recommend." Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian gave the film four stars out of five, stating it to be a "masterful blend of Hitchcock, horror and therapy session". Also writing for The Guardian, Steve Rose had strong praise for McAvoy's role, saying that "he does a fine and fearless job of selling his character's varied personae". He commended his ability to switch personalities in one scene toward the end of the film, saying: "It's a little like the T-1000 at the end of ''Terminator 2''. But there are no special effects here, just acting." The film has been referred to as the first supervillain origin story; the first time a film has been completely devoted to the origins of a villain as opposed to the origins of the superhero. It has also been described as Hollywood's first stealth sequel, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it "one of the most shocking surprises in cinematic history". Accolades Controversy Split garnered controversy for its alleged stigmatization of mental illness. The Australian mental health charity SANE stated, "Films like this are going to reinforce a false stereotypical notion that people living with complex mental illnesses are inherently dangerous and violent." The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation issued a statement debunking the stereotype of dangerous dissociative identity disorder (DID) patients, and criticizing how the film was made "at the expense of a vulnerable population that struggles to be recognized and receive the effective treatment that they deserve". Some with dissociative identity disorder spoke out against the film (and its marketing) for the representation of multiple personalities as frightening and/or violent, including in an open letter to the director. In his article in The Guardian, Steve Rose cited Simone Reinders, a neuroscientist studying DID at King's College London in collaboration with universities in the Netherlands, who stated }} Sequel Shyamalan expressed hope for a third installment following Split, saying, "I hope [a third Unbreakable film happens]. The answer is yes. I'm just such a wimp sometimes. I don't know what's going to happen when I go off in my room, a week after this film opens, to write the script. But I'm going to start writing. have a really robust outline, which is pretty intricate. But now the standards for my outlines are higher. I need to know I've won already. I'm almost there but I'm not quite there." He explained that the final scene from Split was David's realization that Mr. Glass from the first film was right; there are superpowered people in the world. Disney, which produced Unbreakable through its Touchstone Pictures division, is expected to be a production partner and have financial participation with Universal for the sequel. After positive reviews of Split and its critical and financial success, Shyamalan confirmed his next film will be the sequel film that follows the Unbreakable-''Split'' narrative, the final part of the Unbreakable trilogy. In April 2017, Shyamalan revealed that he was nearing completion on the script for the next film. On April 26, 2017, Shyamalan revealed on his Twitter page that the script was completed, and that the sequel will be titled Glass, which is scheduled to be released on January 18, 2019. The cast will include returning actors from both films: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Spencer Treat Clark, and Charlayne Woodard from Unbreakable; and James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy from Split will all reprise their respective roles in Glass. Sarah Paulson will be joining the cast as a new character. The film will focus on Dunn (Willis) chasing down Crumb (McAvoy) in his Beast persona all the while being embroiled in a orchestration by Price (Jackson). Following a week of rehearsals, principal production commenced on October 2, 2017 in Philadelphia. Notes References External links * * * Category:2010s horror thriller films Category:2010s psychological horror films Category:2010s psychological thriller films Category:2010s teen horror films Category:2016 horror films Category:American films Category:American horror thriller films Category:American psychological horror films Category:American psychological thriller films Category:American teen horror films Category:Blinding Edge Pictures films Category:Blumhouse Productions films Category:Body horror films Category:Cannibalism in fiction Category:Dissociative identity disorder in films Category:English-language films Category:Films about abduction Category:Films directed by M. Night Shyamalan Category:Films produced by M. Night Shyamalan Category:Films produced by Jason Blum Category:Films scored by West Dylan Thordson Category:Films set in 2016 Category:Films set in Philadelphia Category:Films set in zoos Category:Films shot in Philadelphia Category:Horror drama films Category:Films with screenplays by M. Night Shyamalan Category:Supervillain films Category:Universal Pictures films